Epigenetic modifications, such as DNA methylation, contribute to the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder (MDD). This study aimed to identify novel MDD-associated epigenetic loci using DNA methylation profiles and explore the correlations between epigenetic loci and cortical thickness changes in patients with MDD.

A total of 350 patients with MDD and 161 healthy controls (HCs) were included in the epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS). We analyzed methylation, copy number alteration (CNA), and gene network profiles in the MDD group. A total of 234 patients with MDD and 135 HCs were included in neuroimaging methylation analysis. Pearson's partial correlation analysis was used to estimate the correlation between cortical thickness of brain regions and DNA methylation levels of the loci.

In total, 2018 differentially methylated probes (DMPs) and 351 differentially methylated regions (DMRs) were identified. DMP-related genes were enriched in two networks involved in the central nervous system. In neuroimaging analysis, patients with MDD showed cortical thinning in the prefrontal regions and cortical thickening in several occipital regions. Cortical thickness of the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC, i.e. pars triangularis) was negatively correlated with eight DMPs associated with six genes (EML6, ZFP64, CLSTN3, KCNMA1, TAOK2, and NT5E).

Through combining DNA methylation and neuroimaging analyses, negative correlations were identified between the cortical thickness of the left VLPFC and DNA methylation levels of eight DMPs. Our findings could improve our understanding of the pathophysiology of MDD.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition, with symptoms appearing in the early developmental period. Little is known about its current burden at the global, regional and national levels. This systematic analysis aims to summarise the latest magnitudes and temporal trends of ASD burden, which is essential to facilitate more detailed development of prevention and intervention strategies.

The data on ASD incidence, prevalence, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in 204 countries and territories between 1990 and 2019 came from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. The average annual percentage change was calculated to quantify the secular trends in age-standardised rates (ASRs) of ASD burden by region, sex and age.

In 2019, there were an estimated 60.38 × 104 [95% uncertainty interval (UI) 50.17–72.01] incident cases of ASD, 283.25 × 105 (95% UI 235.01–338.11) prevalent cases and 43.07 × 105 (95% UI 28.22–62.32) DALYs globally. The ASR of incidence slightly increased by around 0.06% annually over the past three decades, while the ASRs of prevalence and DALYs both remained stable over the past three decades. In 2019, the highest burden of ASD was observed in high-income regions, especially in high-income North America, high-income Asia Pacific and Western Europe, where a significant growth in ASRs was also observed. The ASR of ASD burden in males was around three times that of females, but the gender difference was shrunk with the pronounced increase among females. Of note, among the population aged over 65 years, the burden of ASD presented increasing trends globally.

The global burden of ASD continues to increase and remains a major mental health concern. These substantial heterogeneities in ASD burden worldwide highlight the need for making suitable mental-related policies and providing special social and health services.

Little is known about how sociodemographic and clinical factors affect the caregiving burden of persons with schizophrenia (PwSs) with transition in primary caregivers.

This study aimed to examine the predictive effects of sociodemographic and clinical factors on the caregiving burden of PwSs with and without caregiver transition from 1994 to 2015 in rural China.

Using panel data, 206 dyads of PwSs and their primary caregivers were investigated in both 1994 and 2015. The generalised linear model approach was used to examine the predictive effects of sociodemographic factors, severity of symptoms and changes in social functioning on the caregiving burden with and without caregiver transition.

The percentages of families with and without caregiver transition were 38.8% and 61.2%, respectively. Among families without caregiver transition, a heavier burden was significantly related to a larger family size and more severe symptoms in PwSs. Deteriorated functioning of ‘social activities outside the household’ and improved functioning of ‘activity in the household’ were protective factors against a heavy caregiving burden. Among families with caregiver transition, younger age, improved marital functioning, deteriorated self-care functioning, and better functioning of ‘social interest or concern’ were significant risk factors for caregiving burden.

The effects of sociodemographic and clinical correlates on the caregiving burden were different among families with and without caregiver transition. It is crucial to explore the caregiver arrangement of PwSs and the risk factors for burden over time, which will facilitate culture-specific family interventions, community-based mental health services and recovery.

The risk of antipsychotic-associated cardiovascular and metabolic events may differ among countries, and limited real-world evidence has been available comparing the corresponding risks among children and young adults. We, therefore, evaluated the risks of cardiovascular and metabolic events in children and young adults receiving antipsychotics.

We conducted a multinational self-controlled case series (SCCS) study and included patients aged 6–30 years old who had both exposure to antipsychotics and study outcomes from four nationwide databases of Taiwan (2004–2012), Korea (2010–2016), Hong Kong (2001–2014) and the UK (1997–2016) that covers a total of approximately 100 million individuals. We investigated three antipsychotics exposure windows (i.e., 90 days pre-exposure, 1–30 days, 30–90 days and 90 + days of exposure). The outcomes were cardiovascular events (stroke, ischaemic heart disease and acute myocardial infarction), or metabolic events (hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus and dyslipidaemia).

We included a total of 48 515 individuals in the SCCS analysis. We found an increased risk of metabolic events only in the risk window with more than 90-day exposure, with a pooled IRR of 1.29 (95% CI 1.20–1.38). The pooled IRR was 0.98 (0.90–1.06) for 1–30 days and 0.88 (0.76–1.02) for 31–90 days. We found no association in any exposure window for cardiovascular events. The pooled IRR was 1.86 (0.74–4.64) for 1–30 days, 1.35 (0.74–2.47) for 31–90 days and 1.29 (0.98–1.70) for 90 + days.

Long-term exposure to antipsychotics was associated with an increased risk of metabolic events but did not trigger cardiovascular events in children and young adults.

Anxiety disorders are widespread across the world. A systematic understanding of the disease burden, temporal trend and risk factors of anxiety disorders provides the essential foundation for targeted public policies on mental health at the national, regional, and global levels.

The estimation of anxiety disorders in the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 using systematic review was conducted to describe incidence, prevalence and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in 204 countries and regions from 1990 to 2019. We calculated the estimated annual percentage change (EAPC) to quantify the temporal trends in anxiety disorders burden by sex, region and age over the past 30 years and analysed the impact of epidemiological and demographic changes on anxiety disorders.

Globally, 45.82 [95% uncertainty interval (UI): 37.14, 55.62] million incident cases of anxiety disorders, 301.39 million (95% UI: 252.63, 356.00) prevalent cases and 28.68 (95% UI: 19.86, 39.32) million DALYs were estimated in 2019. Although the overall age-standardised burden rate of anxiety disorders remained stable over the past three decades, the latest absolute number of anxiety disorders increased by 50% from 1990. We observed huge disparities in both age-standardised burden rate and changing trend of anxiety disorders in sex, country and age. In 2019, 7.07% of the global DALYs due to anxiety disorders were attributable to bullying victimisation, mainly among the population aged 5–39 years, and the proportion increased in almost all countries and territories compared with 1990.

Anxiety disorder is still the most common mental illness in the world and has a striking impact on the global burden of disease. Controlling potential risk factors, such as bullying, establishing effective mental health knowledge dissemination and diversifying intervention strategies adapted to specific characteristics will reduce the burden of anxiety disorders.

Little is known about poverty trends in people with severe mental illness (SMI) over a long time span, especially under conditions of fast socioeconomic development.

This study aims to unravel changes in household poverty levels among people with SMI in a fast-changing rural community in China.

Two mental health surveys, using ICD-10, were conducted in the same six townships of Xinjin county, Chengdu, China. A total of 711 and 1042 people with SMI identified in 1994 and 2015, respectively, participated in the study. The Foster-Greer-Thorbecke poverty index was adopted to measure the changes in household poverty. These changes were decomposed into effects of growth and equity using a static decomposition method. Factors associated with household poverty in 1994 and 2015 were examined and compared by regression analyses.

The proportion of poor households, as measured by the headcount ratio, increased significantly from 29.8% in 1994 to 39.5% in 2015. Decomposition showed that poverty in households containing people with SMI had worsened because of a redistribution effect. Factors associated with household poverty had also changed during the study period. The patient's age, ability to work and family size were of paramount significance in 2015.

This study shows that the levels of poverty faced by households containing people with SMI has become more pressing with China's fast socioeconomic development. It calls for further integration of mental health recovery and targeted antipoverty interventions for people with SMI as a development priority.

As a subtropical urbanized city in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong is prone to frequent typhoons. With an increasing number of severe typhoons, usual preparedness measures should be explored to assess their adequacy to safeguard health and wellbeing. Typhoon Mangkhut (2018) serves as an example of the successes and limitations of community preparedness for a severe typhoon.

To explore how Hong Kong residents prepared for Typhoon Mangkhut and whether their usual preparedness measures provided enough protection.

A population-based randomized telephone survey of Hong Kong residents (n=521) was conducted soon after Typhoon Mangkhut’s landing. Only residents aged 18 or above and understood Cantonese were included. Socio-demographic factors, types of typhoon and general preparedness, risk perception, and impacts from the typhoon were asked. Descriptive characteristics and univariate analysis were used to describe the patterns and associations.

8.6% of respondents felt their home was at high risk of danger during typhoons although 33.4% reported some form of impact from Mangkhut. Over 70% reported doing at least one typhoon specific preparedness measure. Among those who practiced at least one typhoon specific preparedness measure, 37.2% (p=0.002) were affected by the typhoon.

Despite the high adaptation of preparedness measures, warranted by the frequent typhoons, Hong Kong residents were not adequately prepared for a severe typhoon. While the early warning system and evacuation of flood-prone areas mitigated some of the impact, unexpected effects such as flying air conditioners, roadblocks affecting employment, swaying buildings, and loss of power supply were not accounted for. Future preparedness for natural disasters which will become more extreme due to climate change and needs to account for unforeseen risks.

Although it is crucial to improve the treatment status of people with severe mental illness (SMI), it is still unknown whether and how socioeconomic development influences their treatment status.

To explore the change in treatment status in people with SMI from 1994 to 2015 in rural China and to examine the factors influencing treatment status in those with SMI.

Two mental health surveys using identical methods and ICD-10 were conducted in 1994 and 2015 (population ≥15 years old, n = 152 776) in the same six townships of Xinjin County, Chengdu, China.

Compared with 1994, individuals with SMI in 2015 had significantly higher rates of poor family economic status, fewer family caregivers, longer duration of illness, later age at first onset and poor mental status. Participants in 2015 had significantly higher rates of never being treated, taking antipsychotic drugs and ever being admitted to hospital, and lower rates of using traditional Chinese medicine or being treated by traditional/spiritual healers. The factors strongly associated with never being treated included worse mental status (symptoms/social functioning), older age, having no family caregivers and poor family economic status.

Socioeconomic development influences the treatment status of people with SMI in contemporary rural China. Relative poverty, having no family caregivers and older age are important factors associated with a worse treatment status. Culture-specific, community-based interventions and targeted poverty-alleviation programmes should be developed to improve the early identification, treatment and recovery of individuals with SMI in rural China.

None.

Our aim was to examine the prevalence, correlates, and association of depressive and anxiety disorders with quality of life (QoL) and such other outcomes as the need for psychosocial services in cancer patients.

A total of 400 patients participated in a multicenter survey involving five cancer centers located throughout Korea. The Short-Form Health Survey, the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory, the Mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer (MINI-MAC), and Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview were administered.

The prevalence rates for depressive and anxiety disorders were 16 and 17.1%, respectively. Younger age and poor Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, and all physical symptoms, as well as helplessness/hopelessness, anxious preoccupation (AP), and cognitive avoidance (CA) on the MINI-MAC were found to be significantly related to depressive disorder (DD) in a univariate logistic regression analysis. Metastases, the symptoms of disturbed sleep, dry mouth, and numbness or tingling, as well as AP and CA were significantly correlated with anxiety disorder (AD) in the univariate analysis. In the multivariate analyses, only AP was significant for AD (odds ratio = 2.94, p < 0.001), while none reached statistical significance for DD. Psychiatric comorbidity status had a detrimental effect on various dimensions of QoL. Patients with DD or AD reported a significantly higher need for professional psychosocial services.

Given the substantial prevalence and pervasive impact of DD and AD on various aspects of QoL, its assessment and care should be integrated as a regular part of oncological care throughout the cancer continuum.